This moment...

Last GA I was given the great privilege to address folks as part of a panel (of illustrious UUs in whose company I did not belong) about effective social justice work. The gist of my message was this: You are simultaneously the hero of this epic story - the work cannot get done unless *you* act; it’s all up to you - AND you are just a bit-player in this same story - one of many, dependent upon many. Both are simultaneously true. This weekend while hiking I realized/remembered a related truth: This moment, right now, this action that you are doing whatever it is you’re doing, is simultaneously the culmination of a thousand other moments stretching back in time, repeated over and over - it is nothing new - AND this moment, right now, this action that you are doing whatever it is you’re doing, is brand new - nothing exactly like it has every happened before - it is new and fresh and exciting. Both are simultaneously true.